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Executing Fabulous Customer Service

On the one hand we want and need fabulous customer service. On the other hand, it can so easily go wrong.

I sent my car for servicing the other day and I have to say that the dealership provided impeccable customer service. They confirmed the time and place of the pick-up and everything went to plan. The car was returned, clean as a whistle, and a text soon followed to say that my custom was highly valued and they hoped that they had done a good job.

A couple of days later, a personally addressed envelope arrived on my desk. I opened it to find a thank you letter.

On the one hand, this was a nice touch; on the other hand the impression of a top quality dealership was dashed because I could hardly read what it said. The letter was a copy of a copy of a copy. My name had been written into the note but it was clear that this was not a very well thought through end to a well-executed service.

My eye was drawn to the paragraph that said they wanted to know how satisfied I was with the service provided and it was clear that it was an attempt to ensure that I provide a good rating if and when I am ever contacted by a market researcher.

Which brings me to the point of my blog. Why is it that some people just don’t get what customer service is about? It isn’t that difficult. Doing a good job that fulfils a promise and saying thank you afterwards is all that is required. A survey every now and then to check that all the needles are pointing in the right direction will never go amiss. However, as a professional researcher and a time served marketer, it is frustrating to see how people can botch these tasks. Like any business tool that is used incorrectly, a badly printed letter and a very obvious attempt to bias my response, took the edge off a job well done. I do hope that the service to the car was better than their attempt to find out what I thought of it.

Have you experienced customer service that delights or disappoints? Let us know in the comments section below.